Officer shot by wife improving

The condition of a 43-year-old Chicago police officer shot by his wife, who then turned the gun on herself outside a Far North Side diner, was improving, a hospital official said Tuesday.

William Martinez, a 16-year veteran assigned to the canine division in the Airport Law Enforcement Unit of the Chicago Police Department, was shot Sunday by his estranged wife, Valerie, a 14-year Chicago police officer from the Harrison District. He had been in critical condition, but his status was upgraded to good on Tuesday, said Christine Rybicki, a spokeswoman for St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.

William Martinez had finished eating at the Deluxe Diner with his daughters, ages 17 and 4, when Valerie Martinez, 41, shot him in the back as they were walking to their vehicle. He was kissing his younger daughter when he was shot, a police source said.

Martinez's older daughter was shot in the ankle, and her condition was also listed as good, Rybicki said. The Cook County medical examiner's office determined that Valerie Martinez committed suicide.